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Beauty

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Last week I attended the INK Conference which is an annual celebration of thinkers and doers from diverse walks of life. World’s visionaries gather under one roof for a cross-pollination of ideas and chance encounters for the next big breakthrough.

A 3 day event to celebrate successful milestones of the community’s journey, the change-makers from every walk of life also share their stories, ideas and perspectives; an ‘intellectual Mardi Gras’ of a kind. INK happened in Mumbai this year with a fetching theme of 'Beyond Boundaries'.I was invited by Dell India which partnered with INK 2014 to attend the sessions and the knowledge that I could take back from them was an enriching one. Some of the key sessions this year were: Vivek Wadhwa’s To Infinity & BeyondAcademic, Researcher, Writer, Entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa began with a reality check for Indian companies saying that in today’s world technology was growing exponentially but turnover of IT companies is not as high as Indian society believes. Wadha also spoke about the failings of the Indian Engineering system stating that “It doesn't matter where you went to school. What matter is your ideas & execution!”Anupama Chopra’s Cosmic JourneyA film critic and book author who has written about the Hindi film industry since 1993, Chopra chatted about how she was never a film buff when young but was seduced by the film industry later. The most important quality according to her that every film critic should have is Integrity and she believes that they are “not in this business to make friends” illustrating her point, she said “After I reviewed Salman's Bodyguard, I had to hire a Bodyguard myself.”Kunal Bahl’s To Infinity & BeyondCo-founder & CEO, Snapdeal.com, Kunal’s session was one of the most anticipated of INK2014. He started the session with a quote from batman that has helped him in his journey with Snapdeal "Why do we fall? So we can pick ourselves up". He said “We started Mobile coupons, it failed. We started discount coupons, it failed. Rohit and I were left with 20000 INR in our savings account at some point. We learnt don’t do what your heart doesn't want you to."The session by Dell India Marketing Manager, Tulsi Gurung on How to Create Your Brand on Social Media? was one of the most insightful and knowledge sharing sessions. #DellAtINKLive

As a Social Markerter, of the numerous take back from the session, some points that have stayed with me are outlined below.

The focal point of building your brand should be to build perception whilst being as human and as true to yourself as possible.

Look out and connect with mentors, not one but loads. Everyone has something unique to offer.

Work hard at Building Relationshipsand then work harder to stay connected. It's not only about increasing the numbers, it more about creating an engagement.

Be on many networks; and talk to each differently. The catch is to join the new emerging networks when they are launched; to grow with them.

Content marketing is now much bigger than ever, what you create will be consumed sometime by somebody in the future,even it is missed now. It is imperative to keep in mind that it is easy to create content, but the tough part is to censor what to publish. Remember one thing, Google never forgets anything.

Sometimes it is better to keep silent if you do not have anything constructive to tell.

Talk through social media platforms just the way you would like to be spoken to, cause your brand is what people talk about it when you are not around.

There is a huge difference between E-commerce and Social Commerce. They are as diverse as chalk and cheese and for Social Commerce to pick up, it will take some time in India.

As a Social Markerter work on three aspects of the Social Media Strategy 1. The way you should treat your target audience 2. Ways to monetise social media 3. Tools to measure Social Media Activities. And the most important thing to remember here is that 'Return on Investment' does not only mean monetary returns, it also means the reach the activity is able to achieve and create additional brand awareness.

Last but not the least be ready to Invest time, effort and money into your social media activities as and when you need to, to grow your brand.

I'm soon going to request Dell India, for a one-on-one session with the knowledge powerhouse Tulsi to gain more insights of Social Media and tools to enhance the presence of my brand #iCynosure.Want to know what you missed at #INK2014? Watch the videos below to get abreast with the happenings at INK2014.

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